


I PROMISE THAT YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LIKE ME

by Significant_What



Series: THE DOCTOR AND THE HAIRDRESSER [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: (shocking I know), Alternate Universe - College/University, Drinking, Feelings, Getting Together, Implied Anxiety, M/M, Sort Of, talking about feelings, will solace is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Significant_What/pseuds/Significant_What
Summary: ”Hey, Will, it’s me”, the voice note starts, and Will is rather surprised to hear his name there. But maybe he shouldn’t be. He isn’t sure about anything anymore. ”It’s six thirty PM, now. Uh. I’m going to start drinking in a moment. When you hear this, please note that what I’m going to tell you is one hundred percent planned. The alcohol is just going to give me a confidence boost. Hopefully. So, uh. Okay. Bye.”
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: THE DOCTOR AND THE HAIRDRESSER [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626325
Comments: 7
Kudos: 214





	I PROMISE THAT YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LIKE ME

**Author's Note:**

> (first story of the year yay)
> 
> So, here's a thing. I watched _Miss Americana_ on Netflix, and you should too, on multiple reasons that I'm not going to list here. Anyway, this documentary made me realize just how much of my creativity and storytelling I owe to Taylor Swift, and I'm never again going to be ashamed to admit that. Thank you goodnight.
> 
> I know the story title is long, but that can't be helped. It's Taylor Swift. She damn well deserves a long story title.
> 
> One more thing: this AU has now officially become a series. Happy February, everyone.

Nico’s breath smells like alcohol, and Will isn’t too sure how he feels about that. Given that they’re in college, and that it’s 10 PM on a Saturday, Will thinks he shouldn’t be surprised, but –

”Nico, you don’t _like_ drinking.”

Nico leans heavily on the frame of Will’s dorm room door. He looks a little bit like he’s regretting every single decision he has made in the last six hours. ”Trust me, I am well aware.” (To his credit, he doesn’t _sound_ drunk.) ”But what’s done is done. Can I come in?”

Will steps aside and Nico walks past him without looking up from his shoes. It’s not that uncommon for Nico to show up at Will’s dorm without a notice, so he’s not worried about Nico seeing him in his sweat pants halfway through a double cheese pepperoni pizza. They have known each other for two years now, and with a bit of consideration Will would say Nico is one of his closest friends, so there’s very little he wouldn’t share.

(There’s also the fact that of those two years, Will has been more or less in love with Nico for a year and a half. And he’s a bit of an over sharer. Those two things combined? Nico probably knows more about Will that he is comfortable with.)

Once the door is closed again and Will turs around, Nico has taken off his denim jacket and thrown it on the floor. This, again, is nothing new, so Will doesn’t mention it; he doubts it would make a difference even if he did. What does concern him a little bit is the state of Nico’s hair. For a person who spends almost half an hour every day fixing his hair in front of the mirror before going out, Nico’s sure looks like a mess right now. It’s like he paid it some thought, but then forgot about it entirely and has been running his hands through it for the past hour like a maniac. It’s sticking to a hundred different directions, and the ends are curling in a way Will hasn’t seen in months.

It also looks very good, and Will really, _really_ wants to touch it, but that would be inappropriate and inconsiderate, especially taken the state Nico is in.

”Do you maybe want some water?” Will suggests, watching as Nico props himself to sit on top of the desk – like there isn’t a perfectly fine chair right next to it. ”Or, you know, I have a Red Bull?”

Nico starts unlacing his boots and shakes his head. ”No, I better not. Maybe later. This works better the drunker I am.”

Will doesn’t understand Nico. That’s maybe one of the things he likes the most about him, that he can’t always tell what is going on inside Nico’s head. Will considers himself good at reading people, but Nico has the tendency to do the unexpected, be this complex structure of art, an enigma. It’s a lot, sometimes, to try and have a conversation that they can both understand, but Will is getting better at reading Nico, too. He just kind of hopes to never become fluent, because he likes the surprise.

So, trying not to be too worried, Will sits down on his bed and leans against the wall. But he _is_ worried. Nico really doesn’t like drinking – it’s got something to do with alcohol messing with his inhibitions, which Will has kind of figured is the entire _point_ of alcohol, anyway. So Nico doesn’t drink that often, and Will believes he has never actually seen Nico properly drunk before. So he’s worried, but he’s also mildly curious as to what Drunk Nico is like. (So far, _cute_ , which is not much of a difference to Sober Nico.)

Nico drops his boots on the floor and starts searching his hoodie pockets for something. A moment later he pulls out his phone, then tosses it on the bed next to Will quite carelessly.

”Open it.”

Okay, now Will is confused. ”What?”

” _Open it._ ” Nico isn’t quite slurring, but there is a strange tone to his voice that isn’t there usually. Will picks up the phone and opens the screen. ”There’s, um, a voice note that I made earlier today. You need to listen to it.”

Will stares at Nico, not doing anything just yet. This is all getting more and more weird by the minute. ”What’s going on, Nico?”

Nico kicks the leg of the desk with the heel of his foot, making a disturbingly loud sound. His hands grip the edge of the desk quite tightly. ”Just _do_ _it_ ”, he grits through his teeth. ”Please”, he adds as an afterthought, and Will decides he must be quite serious about all these dramatics.

It takes Will a moment to navigate through Nico’s phone, but eventually he indeed finds a voice note that Nico has made a few hours ago, it seems. It’s not a long one, but Will still makes sure one more time that Nico actually means for Will to listen to it. The last thing Will wants to do is impose on any personal stuff while Nico is intoxicated.

” _Hey, Will, it’s me_ ”, the voice note starts, and Will is rather surprised to hear his name there. But maybe he shouldn’t be. He isn’t sure about anything anymore. ” _It’s six thirty PM, now. Uh. I’m going to start drinking in a moment. When you hear this, please note that what I’m going to tell you is one hundred percent planned. The alcohol is just going to give me a confidence boost. Hopefully. So, uh. Okay. Bye._ ”

The voice note ends, and Will is even more confused. He considers listening to it again, but the note itself doesn’t really tell him anything. Whatever is going on, it must be serious if it has required Nico this much planning ahead as well as, apparently, quite a bit of alcohol. The Nico in the voice note sounds completely sober though, if also more nervous than Nico usually is around Will anymore.

”Okay”, Will says, closing the screen again and putting the phone down. ”What was that about? Are you okay?”

Nico nods his head once, then after a moment twice more. ”Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” He still doesn’t look at Will. Nico isn’t big on eye contact, but all of this is making Will feel a bit on edge. Whatever is going on, it’s making Nico nervous and unlike himself, and that can’t be good, right?

Will watches as Nico stares at his socked feet. He tries to match his breathing with Nico’s, but notices soon that Nico’s breaths are shallow and fast, a little like when he’s about to have a panic attack. So Will takes a moment to regulate his own breaths, making his movements a little bit more pronounced in an attempt to make Nico notice and maybe copy him before the situation is completely out of hand.

It seems to help, a little. The room is quiet as they breathe, first separately and then together, and even though Nico doesn’t say anything Will can see his shoulders relax a little. Not entirely, but that’s okay for now. Will can work with this.

”You know I’m gay, right?” Nico says after a while, his voice surprisingly strong. He’s still gripping the desk tightly, his knuckles turning white now.

_Well, duh_ , is what Will wants to say, but he bites his tongue. Nico’s sexuality may not be something they have actively discussed, but it may still very well be the least surprising thing about him, in Will’s opinion. Maybe Will has a very strong gay-dar, or maybe Nico is obvious about it. Whatever the case, Will hasn’t ever really given it much of a thought.

However, that can _not_ be the reason Nico is acting like this. There’s no way something like that has Nico so on edge and clearly out of his comfort zone. So Will thinks for a moment, then says, ”Yes. I know.” Because surely it’s better to be frank than sarcastic?

Nico nods again but doesn’t say anything else for a good while. Will lets him be, even though he is _dying_ to know what the hell is going on. What is something that Sober Nico can’t say, yet something that Drunk Nico needs Sober Nico to confirm to be legit? At that, Will’s mind is a total blank.

”So.” Nico takes a deep breath, and it looks a lot more theatrical than it does normally. It makes Will’s lips twitch in a quick smile. ”Here’s the thing. I’m gay, and for the past – I don’t really even know. It’s been _months_ , okay? I just – Will, I really just sometimes want to tell you that it’s a miracle I can even keep my mouth shut.”

Will narrows his eyes. ”Tell me what?”

”That I like you.”

And there it is: the thing Will has secretly wanted to hear for god knows how long, the thing he never suspected to hear from Nico unprompted, never like this. It sends a jolt down Will’s back, and he can feel his heart skip a beat before picking up speed, and – oh, he feels both really wonderful and really terrible at the same time. Because Nico is drunk. Isn’t that what people always tell you, that you should never really listen to people when they have been drinking?

But don’t they also say that drunk people can’t lie? That the things you say while intoxicated always have a basis in truth?

Will tries to force down his own feelings and sits up properly. He also tries very hard not to let out the rather disappointed sigh that he can feel has formed in his throat. ”Nico, maybe you shouldn’t be talking about this while you’re so drunk –”

”No!” Nico jumps down from the desk, startling Will. Thankfully he doesn’t let go of the desk top, otherwise Will is afraid he would fall down with the way he’s swaying. ”No, that’s just it, this is exactly _why_ I’m drunk! I needed to get drunk so that I could finally get this out! You heard that voice note, right?”

The voice note. Funnily enough, Will has always managed to forget about it already. But now that he thinks about it, he can’t help but appreciate Nico’s planning a little bit. He watches as Nico takes the few steps forward and sits down on the bed next to him, falling down and hitting his head on the headboard with an ill sounding thud. Nico, however, doesn’t seem like he’s too bothered about that, merely using his arms to prop himself back up.

Will shakes his head in wonder. ”Just how drunk are you, exactly?”

Nico tilts his head to the side a little. ”Drunk enough that I’m all down for crashing a sorority party after this but nowhere _near_ drunk enough to forget all this by tomorrow.” Will knows this is _so_ not the time (or maybe this is _exactly_ the time, he’s not sure anymore) to discover new cute things about Nico, but he can’t really help his brain.

Then Nico places a hand on Will’s shoulder and continues. ”Will. Will, listen. I know you’re big on consent and freedom of choice because you’re so _good_. You’re just _so good_ , Will, _honestly_. So I made you that voice note. So you know I’m _serious_ when I say I like you, and not just a drunk idiot.”

There are many things Will could call Nico di Angelo at this very moment. A lot of those things are not appropriate, some would be a little too soon, and many could send Sober Nico into one of his anxiety ridden downward spirals, even though that is never Will’s intention. _A drunk idiot_ is on none of those lists, and Will takes Nico’s hand in his to reassure him of that.

(Will has never held Nico’s hand before now. It’s all kinds of nice and exciting, and Will works hard committing every single detail into his memory, just in case this never happens again.)

”I’d never think you’re a drunk idiot, Nico.” Will smiles, then lets out a little laugh. It sounds a little shaky in his own ears. ”Drunk, yes, and well, sometimes an idiot, too. But a really _adorable_ idiot.” He strokes the back of Nico’s hand with his thumb and marvels at the way this makes Nico’s face relax. ”How about I make you a deal? I’m going to get you some water, and then we’re going to sleep. And in the morning, once you’ve woken up and had some more water, and preferably something to eat, we can talk about this a little more. How’s that sound?”

Nico looks like he’s already almost asleep, but he cracks one eye open. Will has no idea how he does that sober, let alone under the influence. ”And will you hold my hand while I sleep?”

Well. Does _that_ squeeze Will’s heart in all the right ways? ”Absolutely. For as long as you want.”

Nico hums, then closes both of his eyes again. ”Okay. Yeah, water sounds actually really good right about now.”

Will smiles at Nico before getting up and retrieving a bottle of water from his mini fridge. When he turns back around Nico has slumped down on the bed, buried his face in Will’s pillow, and looks like he’s three seconds from falling asleep. Will sets the water on the floor next to the bed and sits down next to Nico’s head, gently carding his fingers through his hair. He seriously hopes Nico is right and that he can remember this in the morning.

(He can. He’s ashamed and anxious, but he can. And after a while Will doesn’t think Nico even has any regrets.)


End file.
